The all-nighter: Wee-hours ritual universal for students...

Amanda Chapa, a senior at the University of Houston, pulls her last all-nighter this week ahead of two final exams. The 22-year-old will receive her diploma on Sunday.﻿

Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff

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"I'm the type of person who never really gives up before the absolute end," said Chapa, a Lutheran High School graduate who earned 60 hours of credits at Houston Community College before entering UH.﻿

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

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Amanda Chapa will be the second person in her family to graduate from college. Her brother, Greg Chapa, earned his degree in 2012.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

Amanda Chapa opened up her laptop and breathed a sigh of relief. Classmates had emailed her Power Points outlining key presentations on speech disorders that she'd have to study before her two finals the next day.

She had time to do so. Hours, in fact. Shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, a green can of Red Bull was still unopened on her desk.

Chapa, 22 years old, would take her last undergraduate finals on Tuesday on deaf culture and speech language pathology. Her black graduation robes hung in a nearby closet, the door shut tight. She'd wear them on Friday and Sunday at two separate ceremonies.

Before those milestones would come another: Her last all-nighter as a University of Houston undergraduate.

Student culture has changed significantly over the last few decades. Snapchat and Instagram add new dimensions to campus life. Online courses change what it means to be in school. Students live-stream protests from campus quads.

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University of Houston degrees conferred, spring 2017

Bachelor: 3,622

Master: 1,036

Doctoral: 147

Professional: 388

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But the head-in-book, bleary-eyed, caffeine-fueled all-nighter hasn't changed much. There's still a sense of urgency. Time moves too quickly.

Chapa wasn't alone in her all-nighter Monday. Students across Houston posted on Twitter in solidarity.

One wanted company. "Can someone come and do an allnighter with me pls," he wrote.

"No," someone responded after midnight.

For Chapa, college wasn't just an option growing up - it was the only option. Neither of her parents has a bachelor's degree. They told her about its importance from an early age. Family would come to Houston to celebrate, and on Sunday, she'd receive her diploma.

But Monday her focus was narrow on the two exams. She tossed her cell phone in her red backpack after it vibrated once.

"I'm the type of person who never really gives up before the absolute end," she said.

Chapa learned in high school that she likes being awake while the rest of the world sleeps. She's more productive. Her brain clicks. She runs sometimes in Memorial Park at 5 a.m., sneakers slapping concrete in the quiet air.

She studied human development and family studies and communication sciences and disorders at UH, switching her focus as her priorities changed. Before every big test, she'd work overnight, resting a few hours before taking an exam.

'Sleep next week'

She arrived Monday at her brother's house to study after her first solo shift as a hostess at a downtown lounge. Her mother texted her shortly after 1 a.m.: "Wake up, wake up, study. You can sleep next week. Take a breath tomorrow and finish those exams."

Chapa will be the second person in her family to graduate from college. Greg Chapa got his degree from UH in 2012. Their parents started at Houston Community College, but neither graduated. They instead raised her brother and worked, he as a firefighter and she in office administration.

Chapa started out at HCC, too, right after graduating from Lutheran High North in 2012. She took 60 hours of credits, specializing in nursing. Her mother double-checked each course she registered for, ensuring the hours would transfer to a four-year program.

Initially, she thought she'd prefer to leave Houston for her bachelor's. But UH was close to home and offered speech pathology courses, which interested her. Chapa was impressed by her professors almost immediately. She felt challenged by tough courses and balanced classes with work as a nanny and in a dance studio.

Greg Chapa was with his sister as she got her class ring. He said he's liked to see his sister on the path he took over the last few years.

And he's also liked seeing the university grow and change, too. He's a season ticket holder for the UH football team and spends time with alumni. "It's different now than it was when I went there. The facilities and the campus (have) grown into something new."

Switching gears

Shortly after 2 a.m., Chapa switched gears and began to prepare for the speech language pathology test. She'd be allowed to bring in a notecard with key facts written on the front and back into the test. Tiny lines of black all-caps handwriting crisscrossed the card by 3:15 a.m.

"Is anyone still awake?" she texted her classmates. No one answered.

This last push felt important. Her all-nighters have changed over the past five years, she said, describing how her study tactics have evolved over the years with almost a premature nostalgia, savoring the moment even before it ends.

College was always the next step. Now what?

She could pursue occupational or speech therapy. She could go back to study nursing. In an internship this summer, she'll learn how a nonprofit works behind the scenes. That's potentially an option, too.

"All these decisions are going to be big," she said, and there will be more of them to make. Chapa may soon move out of her family's home and will then take on new financial independence. She may move away from Houston for graduate school, though she knows she won't leave Texas. It's all a little scary.

But it also was days away. Her focus on Monday was on the semester's work. She scrolled back to the top of her notes and settled in, ready to finish the night.

Lindsay Ellis covers higher education at the Houston Chronicle, where she has worked since August 2016. Previously, she covered business news at the Times Union in Albany, N.Y., with internships at The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She grew up in Boston and studied nonfiction writing and history at Dartmouth College.